Pope: Imitate Mary in Receiving the Word of God

She is the symbol of openness, of the Church that awaits the coming of the Holy Spirit.

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) - Benedict XVI is upholding Mary as an example of one who listened to the Word of God, assimilated it, and kept it in her heart.

The Pope spoke about the Blessed Virgin in a meeting Feb. 26 with parish priests of the Diocese of Rome, a Lenten tradition, in which he answered their questions and concerns.

"Mary is really the woman who listens," he affirmed, "we see it in the meeting with the angel, and we see it again in all the scenes of her life, from the wedding at Cana to the cross and to the day of Pentecost, when she was in the midst of the Apostles precisely to receive the Spirit."

He added, "She is the symbol of openness, of the Church that awaits the coming of the Holy Spirit."

We too must have this "attitude of listening," urged the Pontiff, "a listening that is internalized, which does not simply say yes, but which assimilates the Word, takes the Word, and then follows with true obedience."

He said, "This seems very beautiful to me: to see this active listening, a listening that attracts the Word so that it enters and becomes Word in me, reflecting on it and accepting it in the depth of my heart."

The Holy Father underlined Mary's Magnificat, which shows that she is a woman who "knew the Scriptures in her heart." He explained that "she did not just know some texts, but was so identified with the Word that the words of the Old Testament became [...] a song in her heart and on her lips."

He continued, "We see that her life was really penetrated by the Word, she had entered the Word, had assimilated it and it had become life in her, transforming itself again in a Word of praise and proclamation of the greatness of God."

Benedict XVI promoted the Gospel's description of Mary who "assimilated and kept the Word in her heart," urging his listeners to do the same.